We have our first batch of reviews for Legacy, the first story-based add-on for Dragon Age II, and BioWare’s first response to the criticism the main title received.
GameSpot, 5.5/10, argues that the DLC “makes little impression” and isn’t “800 Microsoft Points ($10) worth”.
Thankfully, some of these calculated motions address problems in the original game. You don’t return to Dragon Age II’s recycled environments but battle through brand new ones. Most of these are the typically narrow brown corridors similar to those through which you’ve already passed; they’re officially new but too dingy and familiar to generate much excitement. A few, however, are larger and more atmospheric. A dusty desert arena in the early going is surrounded by rocky cliffs, and dwarven snipers inhabit walkways above the main combat area. Meanwhile, you can pull levers to activate traps that plunge spikes into unsuspecting thugs standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Throw in a charging bronto or two, and you have an interesting combat scenario that keeps you on the move. Such moments are fun, but they’re also fleeting. In time, Legacy’s levels constrict, and you can rely on hammering the usual buttons without giving battle much thought. But at least combat remains entertaining to watch. If you play as a rogue, you somersault and pounce about the place. When you leap into Varric’s shoes, you let loose a rain of arrows from his beloved bow Bianca.
On a few occasions, fleeing enemies lead you into an ambush, which doesn’t inject any challenge into the combat, but it is nonetheless a nice authentic touch. Unfortunately, such minor delights are cheapened by bugs and slapdash execution. You might trigger a wave of enemies to appear, yet their arrival doesn’t feel the least bit organic. A cluster of snipers doesn’t swarm from doorways–it just teleports in. This poorly veiled trick is common enough to draw attention to itself. Bugs are all too common as well. You might whittle a creature’s health bar down to nothing, yet the thing won’t die, no matter how long you hammer on it. Eventually, you might be able to destroy it, but only after you kill some random archer hiding in the corner and pelting you with arrows. And this isn’t an isolated glitch–it may crop up multiple times. There are also notable sound bugs. Party members deliver story-related dialogue without regard for any ongoing party banter. The result: multiple characters talking at once, and you missing out on the important stuff. And in several big battles, the din of battle suffers from major audio crackles and pops, as if the game were trying to push too much noise through your speakers.
GameFront obviously had a sensibly different experience, as they award the add-on an impressive 95/100.
However, combat isn’t the end-all be-all of Legacy; fans of lore will have pages to read to learn more about the new locations and the people that lived (and died) in them. A moral dilemma will force plot-oriented players to make a tough choice between two shades-of-grey options. Legacy even manages to throw in a couple puzzles that make you use your noggin a throwback to the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons roots of the genre.
Characterization in Legacy is as strong as it was in DA2; inter-party banter returns, there are some touching family moments, and you meet one memorable NPC that is both visually interesting and has depth to his character. The voice-acting is top-notch as usual my only complaint is that the dwarves sound like morons, possibly even more so than in DA2. I expect DA’s dwarven language to sound like (Herp derp.)
Without spoiling the ending, the final villain didn’t feel as menacing as I would have liked, and the immediate post-battle denouement was not particularly satisfying, but a family moment at the end brought it home: the villain, the Grey Wardens none of that mattered. Dragon Age 2 is a story about Hawke and his family, and Legacy left me satisfied with the completion of a journey of self-discovery and family bonding.
Overall, the quality of Legacy is unquestionable. It was crafted with the same quality and attention to detail as DA2 perhaps even more so. Had DA2 been developed this way, players would have had far less to complain about.
GamerLimit, 8.0/10.
While Legacy is overall a good experience, it does have a few issues (that mostly stem from the main game’s problems). For instance, the final encounter requires swift movement from all party members at all times for some reason, the game’s (hold) policy doesn’t seem to stick.
I would constantly attempt to use the game’s (hold ground) function to stay out of harm’s way instead, they would insist on following me around, getting severely burned in patches of fire; which forced me to control each character individually, pause the game, and run them to a safe location on every phase. If the (hold) button actually worked, I would be able to place them in a corner, do my business, and save a ton of time.
Additionally, the DLC is mostly a linear experience, only offering you a few areas that allow mild exploration, in favor of a more guided, narrative based quest. Thankfully, just like the core game, the combat system is interesting enough to alleviate the boredom, and the addition of five or so new enemies also ease the pain.
The Game Effect, 8.3/10.
The price is rather steep despite what seems to be a meaty quest in a new environment. It does reveal a bit about Hawke’s father and the story does get more interesting as it progresses, but doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on anything outside of that. It’s also more of the same combat you either love or hate from the franchise. As a reward for making your way through Legacy, the player does get to keep the unique weapon that they created throughout the course of story, which is also a plus if you are still playing through the main quest. The price is worth the experience depending on how much you want to play another involving quest and obtain a unique weapon whenever you start a new game.
Empty Lifebar, 4/5.
With the release of this downloadable content for Dragon Age II, I can’t help but wonder if Bioware plans on releasing as much content for this game as they had with Origins. To my knowledge, Origins had a total of seven DLC mission packs, one of which was a $ 40 expansion. After playing this DLC I can only hope that Bioware supports this game with as much DLC, I’d be willing to pay for all of them if they’re as good or better than Legacy. If you were a fan of the game then Legacy is definitely for you if you’re willing to pay the $10(800 MSP/BioWare Points) for it. If you’re one of the people who preferred Origins however then you’d probably be better off avoiding this DLC as it still has the same feel as the rest of Dragon Age II.
VideoGameWriters, 3/5.
The story is not the most inspired. Our friend from the chantry returns to ask Varric why he neglected to mention this part of the story he tells throughout Dragon Age II, so we are not given too many clues about when these events occur, only that Varric did leave them out of his original tale. Without giving too many spoilers, all I will say is that, at times, I’m unsure which side BioWare wants their own (heroes) and factions to be on. I feel as though each trip back to the world Dragon Age involves more conspiracy and corruption.
Overall, Legacy is very much akin to Return to Ostagar: it’s short on time (I finished it in just under two hours), short on story, and the items gained aren’t that shiny. It’s not bad in fact, despite my complaints I really did have fun but I’m just not sure it’s worth $9.99 (800 MS points). Personally, I’d suggest waiting for the inevitable price drop, or bundle.
Polish The Console, 4/5.
While the story in Legacy isn’t going to make Dragon Age 2 a game of the year it did certainly make me feel better about Dragon Age 2 as a whole. It’s something that helps create a more complete offering. While it’s not earth shattering ground breaking by any means it’s still better than you see in some games.
